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Pakistan

sovereign state in South Asia


Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world’s fifth-most populous country with a population exceeding 212.7 million people. In area, it is the 33rd-largest country, spanning 881,913 square kilometres (340,509 square miles). Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China in the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the northwest, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.

Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims — Hindus, Christians, and Parsis — but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan. ~ Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Pakistan not only means freedom and independence but the Muslim Ideology which has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift and treasure and which, we hope other will share with us. ~ Muhammad Ali Jinnah
I assert that Pakistan is the biggest rogue of all the rogue states of today. I assert that what is taking form there, between Islamabad and Karachi, is a black hole compared to which Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad was an obsolete weapons dump. ~ B.-H. Lévy
They have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more! ~ Donald Trump
Pakistan is known for its amazing and stunning natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and historical landmarks. From the majestic peaks of the Himalayas and Karakoram in the north, like K2 and Nanga Parbat, to the serene valleys of Hunza and Swat, the country offers breathtaking landscapes. The cultural diversity is also profound, with a mix of traditions, languages, and festivals that showcase the warmth and hospitality of its people. Historic sites like Mohenjo-Daro, Taxila, and the Badshahi Mosque add to its charm. ~ Akhtar Aly Kureshy
A Galaxy of lawyers in Lahore High Court, Lahore.
Pakistan is a living testament to the bankrupt idea of an Islamic State. ~ Tarek Fatah
See also Pakistanis


Arranged alphabetically by author or source:
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z · See also · External links

We represent the future of a modern Pakistan, a future that has no place in it for ignorance, intolerance, and terrorism. ~ Benazir Bhutto
Was anything wrong with the dream or with the one who made the dream come true? Opinions have differed and continue to differ. ~ Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught equality of man, justice and fairplay to everybody.. ~ Muhammad Ali Jinnah

A

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  • At this solemn hour in the history of India, when British and Indian statesmen are laying the foundations of a Federal Constitution for that land, we address this appeal to you, in the name of our common heritage, on behalf of our thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN—by which we mean the five Northern units of India, Viz: Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan.
  • In the present times of grave crisis we need dissident intellectuals who can challenge the establishment... Pakistan did not develop any tradition of dissident intellectual activity.
    • Mubarak Ali, In an interview published in The Times of India, New Delhi, 29 October 1997. Quoted from Lal, K. S. (1999). Theory and practice of Muslim state in India. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. Chapter 6
  • It appears to be the dawn of a new vision pointing to a new destiny symbolized by a new name, Pakistan. The Muslims appear to have started a new worship of a new destiny for the first time. But this is really not so. The worship is new because the sun of their new destiny which was so far hidden in the clouds has only now made its appearance in full glow. The magnetism of this new destiny cannot but draw the Muslims towards it.

B

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  • The nation is gripped in her worst crisis, standing in the middle of the road between survival and disintegration. Since the birth of Pakistan, crisis has followed crisis in rapid escalation. Millions of lives were sacrificed to create this country. Pakistan is said to be the dream of Mohammad Iqbal and the creation of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Azam. Was anything wrong with the dream or with the one who made the dream come true? Opinions have differed and continue to differ. The next few years will most probably decide the issue, perhaps once and for all, and not without bloodshed. This process is not inevitable but the present policies of the ruling junta are driving this country towards a sad inevitability.

C

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D

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  • The formation of Pakistan was necessary so that it may be used as a base for conquering the rest of India to Islam.
    • F. K. Durrani, as attributed in : Writings of Sri Purushottam Singh Yog Volume 9 (The partition conspiracy and is the indian constitution ultra vires?), p. 349 [1]

E

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F

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The first thought a Western woman has when she arrives in a rigorously Muslim country like Pakistan is that she appears to be the only woman to have survived a tsunami that has washed away all the others. ~ Oriana Fallaci
  • The first thought a Western woman has when she arrives in a rigorously Muslim country like Pakistan is that she appears to be the only woman to have survived a tsunami that has washed away all the others.
    • Oriana Fallaci. Quoted in De, S. C., & Harss, M. (2017). Oriana Fallaci: The journalist, the agitator, the legend.
  • Pakistan is a living testament to the bankrupt idea of an Islamic State.

I

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  • I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single state. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated Northwest Indian Muslim state appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of Northwest India.
    • Muhammad Iqbal, Sir Muhammad Iqbal’s 1930 Presidential Address to the 25th Session of the All-India Muslim League, Allahabad, 29 December 1930 (also at the University of Columbia website). Quoted in Talib, S. G. S. (1950). Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab, 1947. Amritshar: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. page 3

J

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  • You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed -- that has nothing to do with the business of the State.
    • Muhammad Ali Jinnah's first Presidential Address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan (August 11, 1947)
  • Pakistan not only means freedom and independence but the Muslim Ideology which has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift and treasure and which, we hope other will share with us.
  • Do not be afraid of death. Our religion teaches us always to be prepared for it. We should face it bravely if the honour of Pakistan and Islam are at stake. There is no better salvation for a Muslim than the death of a martyr for a righteous cause. Duty comes first. Have faith in God. There is no power on earth that can undo Pakistan. She is here to stay.
  • I do not know what the ultimate shape of this constitution is going to be, but I am sure that it will be of a democratic type, embodying the essential principle of Islam. Today, they are as applicable in actual life as they were 1,300 years ago. Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught equality of man, justice and fairplay to everybody. We are the inheritors of these glorious traditions and are fully alive to our responsibilities and obligations as framers of the future constitution of Pakistan. In any case Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims — Hindus, Christians, and Parsis — but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan.

L

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  • I assert that Pakistan is the biggest rogue of all the rogue states of today. I assert that what is taking form there, between Islamabad and Karachi, is a black hole compared to which Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad was an obsolete weapons dump.

N

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  • The state withered. But faith didn’t. Failure only led back to the faith. The state had been founded as a homeland for Muslims. If the state failed, it wasn’t because the dream was flawed, or the faith flawed; it could only be because men had failed the faith.
  • But wasn't this what Pakistan was supposed to be? After all, it came into being on the basis of the two-nation theory, that Hindus and Muslims were two separate states, that Hindus and Muslims could not live together. That was Pakistan's raison d'être. Supposing by some black magic they converted to another way of thinking... Pakistan would collapse. Therefore one of the planks of Pakistani statecraft was to keep reminding its people and the world at large of that mantra of survival: we are because we cannot live with them.
    • Saeed Naqvi, Reflections of an Indian Muslim (1993), quoted from Elst, Koenraad (2014). Decolonizing the Hindu mind: Ideological development of Hindu revivalism. New Delhi: Rupa. p. 350
  • You know, Biafra stirred up a few Catholics. But you know, I think Biafra stirred people up more than Pakistan, because Pakistan they’re just a bunch of brown goddamn Moslems.
    • Richard Nixon, quoted in Bass, G. J. (2014). The Blood telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a forgotten genocide.

T

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  • This name-Pakistan-means literally ‘the Land of the Pure’ or of Purity. This implies clearly that Hindus and all that belongs to them credally and materially is impure, defiled and unholy. In a communally-charged atmosphere to have broadcast such an offensive name and concept among the Muslims was to extend an open invitation to racial and communal arrogance, contempt of others, challenges and counter-challenges.
  • (The achievement of Pakistan) was the first successful step in this 20th century to realise their 1200-year old dream of complete subjugation of this country.
    • Arnold Toynbee, as attributed in : Writings of Sri Purushottam Singh Yog Volume 9 (The partition conspiracy and is the indian constitution ultra vires?), p. 349 [7]
  • The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
    • Donald Trump, CNN: Trump's first 2018 tweet: Pakistan has 'given us nothing but lies & deceit' [8], The Independent [9]

U

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  • Just as Medina had provided a base for the eventual victory of Islam in Arabia, Pakistan would pave the way for the triumphal return of Islam as the ruling power over the entire subcontinent. The whole of Hindustan would thus be turned into Pakistan just as the Prophet himself had turned all of Arabia into Pakistan.
    • Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, in 1946, Hamara Pakistan, Khutba-i-Sadarat Punjab Jamiatul Ulama Conference, Lahore, 25–27 January, 1946, (Hyderabad, 1946), 28. As quoted in Creating a New Medina, V. Dhulipala, pages 5, 361. And quoted in J Sai Deepak - India that is Bharat_ Coloniality, Civilisation, Constitution-_ Bloomsbury India (2021)

W

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Z

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  • Pakistan is like Israel, an ideological state. Take out Judaism from Israel and it will collapse like a house of cards. Take Islam out of Pakistan and make it a secular state; it would collapse. For the past four years we have been trying to bring Islamic values to this country.
    • General Zia-ul-Haq (1916-89), Chief Martial Law Administrator, Pakistan, 1981. As quoted from Tariq Ali - The Clash of Fundamentalisms_ Crusades, Jihads and Modernity-Verso (2002) page 156

See also

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